A large variety of body implants are known for medical uses such as substitute vascular prostheses, skin dressings and coverings, and for other purposes. The implant materials can be synthetic or body tissues from the same species or other species as the species to be implanted. When body tissues and structures are to be implanted, they may be used fresh from the donor but in many cases, it is preferred to have some means of preserving the implant tissue for later use.
Umbilical cords have been suggested for use as vascular grafts after storage in buffer and fixing with glutaraldehyde. Bovine carotids have been treated with ficin to form collagenous materials for later implantation. Others have extracted lipids from cross-linked body materials to be implanted. U.S. Pat. No. 4,323,358 does disclose the use of a sodium dodecyl sulfate treatment of a body implant material which has first been treated with glutaraldehyde. The treatment is carried out only after cross-linking and inhibits mineralization on implantation. None of these known procedures has resulted in a totally acceptable and reproduceable vascular graft suitable for acceptance by all although each has certain advantages. The use of biomatrix as a supplement and aid in tissue culture outside of the body has been suggested by many including U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,887. Biomatrix fibers are used for tissue culture after treatment of body structures with a series of steps including detergent treatment to remove cell membranes, nucleic acids, lipids and cytoplasmic components while leaving a material high in collagens. The treatment of whole body structures with detergent steps of various sorts has been suggested to obtain extracellular matrix suitable for scientific study. Papers on this subject include the following: K. Brendel and E. Meezan, "Vascular Basement Membranes: Preparation and Properties of Material Isolated with the Use of Detergents", The Cerebral Microvasculature, 1980, pp. 89-103; E. C. Carlson, K. Brendel, J. T. Hjelle and E. Meezan, "Ultrastructural and Biochemical Analyses of Isolated Basement Membranes from Kidney Glomeruli and Tubules and Brain and Retinal Microvessels", Journal of Ultrastructure Research, 62, 26-53 (1978); R. C. Duhamel, E. Meezan, K. Brendel, "Morphology of Bovine Cerebral and Retinal Microvascular Basement Membranes and Electrophoretic Characterization of Differential Extracts", Bibliotheca Anatomica, No. 20, pp. 134-137; E. Meezan, K. Brendel, J. T. Hjelle and E. C. Carlson, "A Versatile Method for the Isolation of Ultrastructurally and Chemically Pure Basement Membranes Without Sonication", Biology and
Chemistry of Basement Membranes 1978, pp. 17-30; E. Meezan, R. B. Nagle, P. Johnson, C. Wagner, R. White and K. Brendel, "Structural and Functional Properties of Acellular, Histoarchitecturally Intact Basement Membranes", Frontiers of Matrix Biology, vol. 7, pp. 101-119 (1979); E. Meezan, J. T. Hjelle and K. Brendel, "A Simple, Versatile, Nondisruptive Method for the Isolation of Morphologically and Chemically Pure Basement Membranes from Several Tissues", Life Sciences Vol. 17, pp. 1721-1732 (1975); K. Brendel, E. Meezan and R. B. Nagle, "The Acellular Perfused Kidney: A Model for Basement Membrane Permeability", Biology and Chemistry of Basement Membranes, pp. 177-193 (1978); R. Kuttan, R. D. Spall, R. C. Duhamel, I. G. Sipes, E. Meezan and K. Brendel, "Preparation and Composition of Alveolar Extracellular Matrix and Incorporated Basement Membrane", Lung (1981) 159:333-345; and R. C. Duhamel, E. Meezan and K. Brendel, "Selective Solubilization of Two Populations of Polypeptides from Bovine Retinal Basement Membranes, Exp. Eye Res (1983) 36, 257-267.
The prior art has not recognized the substantial advantages obtained by use of body implants which have been treated to form them into cell-free extracellular matrix high in collagens and suitable to provide body repair and compatibility in a wide range of specific living body locations having a wide range of functions.